WikiLeaks’ web host raided by Swedish police

The Stockholm-based web host for WikiLeaks and The Pirate Bay has been raided by Swedish police. Four of the firm’s servers were seized, though it remains unclear exactly who was being targeted.

The Stockholm-based web host PeRiQuito AB, or PRQ, was targeted by police on Monday, the company’s owner Mikael Viborg told local media.

"PRQ.se, one of a number of ISPs used by WikiLeaks has been raided by Swedish police; 4 servers seized. Police still in office," WikiLeaks tweeted on Monday.

A large swatch of filesharing sites, including The Pirate Bay and PRQ’s own website have been down since the raid, though Viborg says the technical issues were unrelated to the seizure of the servers.

Other bittorrent sites which are currently unavailable include torrenthound.com, linkomanija.net and tankafetast.nu, release blog RLSLOG.net, and the sports streaming sites atdhenet.tv, hahasport.com, sportlemon.tv and stopstream.tv, Torrent Freak reports.

Viborg says the search warrant was related to intellectual property violations, though it remains unclear whose servers were impounded.

The Prosecutor General’s Office confirmed that a raid had taken place, but did not provide any additional information.

Several Swedish government agencies and businesses were the victims of cyber attacks in the days leading up to the raid. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, though Swedish police claim they are linked to the ongoing sex crimes investigation against WikiLeaks-founder Julian Assange.

PRQ became infamous for its maximalist approach to free speech issues concerning its policy on hosting.

Among its 2,000 or so clients, the firm has hosted WikiLeaks, the North America Man-Boy Love Association (NAMBLA), Pedophile.se, and the Chechen rebel site Kavkaz Central.

The Pirate Bay said PRQ is no longer their host, though Viborg said WikiLeaks was still hosted by PRQ as of last summer, Forbes reported.

“Even though I loathe what they say, I defend them,” Viborg told Forbes last August regarding his pro-pedophile clients. “We don’t cooperate with the authorities unless we absolutely have to.”

PQR was founded by The Pirate Bay members back in 2004 and has been raided by police on two separate occasions.

In 2006, Swedish police confiscated 180 servers in connection with an investigation targeting The Pirate Bay. A second raid occurred in 2010 targeting a filesharing network known as “The Scene.”

The Pirate Bay and PRQ co-founder Svartholm Warg was extradited to Sweden last month to serve a one-year sentence for breaching copyright laws. He is also being charged with hacking into the Swedish IT security company Logica, a firm that services the Swedish tax office. The tax numbers of 9,000 Swedes were later leaked online, making headlines around the country.

WikiLeaks releases Syria Files, almost 2.5 mln emails to be published

The whistleblower website WikiLeaks has announced the release of almost 2.5 million emails derived from 680 Syria-related entities and domain names. They are said to be “embarrassing to Syria, but it is also embarrassing to Syria’s opponents.”

­“It helps us not merely to criticize one group or another, but to understand their interests, actions and thoughts. It is only through understanding this conflict that we can hope to resolve it," the press release quotes Julian Assange. The Wikileaks founder is currently in the Ecuador embassy in London, where he is awaiting a decision on his appeal for political asylum.

The website says the files“shine a light on the inner workings of the Syrian government and economy, but they also reveal how the West and Western companies say one thing and do another.“

There are 2,434,899 in the leak involving 678,752 different senders and 1,082,447 different recipients, WikiLeaks says. That’s about eight times the size of “Cablegate” in terms of a number of documents and 100 times the size in terms of data. Cablegate was the release by WikiLeaks of US State Department confidential cable exchanges between American embassies and Washington, which angered the US administration.

The entities exposed include the Syrian Ministries of Presidential Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Information, Transport and Culture, among others.

The texts are in several languages, including around 400,000 emails in Arabic and 68,000 emails in Russian. Around 42,000 emails were infected with viruses or trojans.

Just like previous releases of confidential data, the Syria files will be released in chunks over a period of time. Several news outlets have already received access to the database.

Assange ordered to UK police station: First step in extradition process

London police have issued an order for whistleblower Julian Assange to appear at a police station to begin the extradition process. The Wikileaks founder is in the Ecuadorian embassy, appealing for asylum on grounds of political persecution.

London Metropolitan police delivered an order calling for the Australian to come to Belgravia police station in central London on Thursday.

Assange is currently liable for arrest by the UK police should he leave the embassy on the basis that he violated his bail conditions.

He arrived at the Ecuadorian Embassy last Tuesday, appealing for Asylum from the country’s government. Assange hopes to sidestep his removal to Sweden where he is wanted for questioning over allegations of sexual abuse.

He has voiced fears that Stockholm may turn him over to US jurisdiction where he could be tried on charges of espionage. The publishing of thousands of diplomatic wires on the Wikileaks site prompted a wave of aggressive rhetoric from US politicians branding the whistleblower as a terrorist.

The Ecuadorian government has said that it is no hurry to reach a conclusion over Assange’s appeal. President Rafael Correa stressed his government was considering the legal and political consequences of granting asylum and that it had not set a deadline for the decision. He has recalled the UK ambassador to Ecuador to assess the situation.

"We will come to a decision as a sovereign nation which doesn't exclude the possibility of consulting with friendly nations," said the president on Tuesday.

Julian Assange said that he sought protection from the Ecuadorian government because he had been abandoned by Canberra.

The Australian government disputes this, arguing that they are powerless to intervene as he has broken no Australian laws.

Asssange has maintained throughout the drawn-out trial that the allegations set against him are depthless and politically-motivated

Assange wants guarantee he won’t be sent to the US

After a week holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has said he is prepared to go to Sweden for questioning in a sexual assault case – but only if he is guaranteed that he won’t be extradited to the United States.

The Australian-born whistleblowing boss made a last-resort bid for freedom last week, when he arrived at the Ecuadorian embassy and asked for political asylum. His request is now being considered by that country’s president, and the ambassador has been recalled for consultations as well.

Assange and most of his supporters believe that once he arrives in Sweden, he will be extradited to the United States, as Washington wants to pursue him for revealing sensitive information about US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. There is also the matter of thousands of leaked diplomatic cables, which have put the US in an uncomfortable position with its allies and partners worldwide.

Assange said that “if the US were to guarantee [it would] drop the grand jury investigation and any further investigation of WikiLeaks’ publishing activity, that would be an important guarantee… diplomatic commitments do have some weight.”

Until a decision is made about his asylum application, Ecuador says he will remain under its protection. But Assange faces arrest for breaching the terms of his bail if he leaves the West London building.

Ecuador recalls ambassador for Assange advisement

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has recalled his ambassador to the UK in order to discuss the case of Julian Assange. The asylum bid is being analyzed without concession to foreign pressure, but with caution to “other countries’” opinions.

­"We are calling our ambassador back for consultations because this is a very serious matter," Correa said Friday. “We are going to proceed cautiously, responsibly and seriously in this case, without bowing to absolutely any pressure.”

Ecuadorian envoy Ana Alban had met earlier with British authorities to ascertain their point of view.

"We will take it into account, but Ecuador will make the final decision," Correa added. "We don't wish to offend anyone, least of all a country we hold in such deep regard as the United Kingdom. We are going to have to discuss with and seek the opinions of other countries.”

President Correa also said it is too early to talk about a “safe passage” out of the country for Assange, since the final decision has not yet been made.

The WikiLeaks founder arrived at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London seeking political asylum four days ago, breaking the conditions of his bail. British police are determined to arrest him as soon as he steps out of the front door of the embassy, whether he is granted asylum or not.

In an interview with Australian Broadcasting Corp radio on Friday, Assange accused Washington of building a plot to bring him to the US. Assange hoped his dramatic move would at least “draw attention to the underlying issues," as the Australian government had made an "effective declaration of abandonment" by not intervening in British court procedures.

Rejecting reports that the decision on granting asylum might be expected soon, President Correa acknowledged that Ecuador will take all the time necessary to verify the reasons presented by Assange.

“Ecuador is a country which defends the right to life,” he said. “We have to see whether there is a threat to Julian Assange's life."

Correa on Assange asylum: We will seek other countries' opinions

Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa speaks during press conference in Quito.

Julian Assange’s bid for political asylum is being closely discussed with "other governments involved," Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said, adding that shaping a decision may take longer than first thought.

­"We don't wish to offend anyone, least of all a country we hold in such deep regard as the United Kingdom," Correa said on Friday. “We are going to have to discuss with and seek the opinions of other countries.”

It is too early to talk about a “safe passage” out of the country for Assange, since the final decision has not yet been made, President Correa added.

The WikiLeaks founder arrived at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London seeking political asylum four days ago, breaking the conditions of his bail. British police are determined to arrest him as soon as he steps out of the front door of the embassy, whether he is granted asylum or not.

In an interview with Australian Broadcasting Corp radio on Friday, Assange accused Washington of building a plot to bring him to the US. Assange hoped his dramatic move would at least “draw attention to the underlying issues," as the Australian government had made an "effective declaration of abandonment" by not intervening in British court procedures.

Rejecting reports that the decision on granting asylum might be expected soon, President Correa acknowledged that Ecuador will take all the time necessary to verify the reasons presented by Assange.

“Ecuador is a country which defends the right to life,” he said. “We have to see whether there is a threat to Julian Assange's life."

Sweden, UK dragging feet while US drums up case against me - Assange

The following article is from Russian Media, a country that completely ignores the Human Rights and Freedom of Speech of all its own citizens.

 

Whistleblower Julian Assange has accused the UK and Sweden of conspiring to trap him in England while US authorities make a legal case against him. He said the Australian government has abandoned him by refusing to intervene in his extradition.

In a live interview from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London with Australian Broadcasting Corp radio he stressed that Washington is hatching a plot to bring him to the US.

“The situation for me here in the UK has been extremely precarious and the refusal by the Swedish prosecutor to come to the UK for the past 18 months – despite that being absolutely normal procedure – and the refusal of her to explain it in any manner whatsoever to the British courts, has kept me trapped in the United Kingdom, while the United States has prepared its case against me,” the Australian said to ABC.

He added that the Australian government had made an "effective declaration of abandonment" as at no point did it intervene in UK court procedures.

He leveled criticism at Australian PM Julia Gillard for her “slimy rhetoric” with the US ambassador to Australia and categorically denied receiving any help from his country’s diplomatic mission as had been suggested.

The WikiLeaks founder arrived at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on Tuesday in a new twist in his on-going battle against extradition to Sweden where he is wanted for questioning over alleged sex crimes.

Assange, 40, maintains that the accusations set against him are politically motivated and said he hoped his dramatic actions “will simply draw attention to the underlying issues."

He has voiced concerns that his extradition to Sweden would be the first step towards a possible transfer to US jurisdiction.

Once in the US, he could face a similar fate to fellow whistleblower Bradley Manning, currently on trial with a potential court martial in the cards.

He said the American authorities had been carefully skirting around the issue of his possible extradition to the US.

“Their careful statements reflect that the [US] Department of Justice is not able to formally confirm or deny the existence of the grand jury – it's a policy with all grand juries.”

Assange stressed legal action was being taken against him by the US, insisting “the evidence is everywhere.”

He alluded to the detention of two people in an American airport last month, who he said were interrogated by the FBI.

“They ask questions about me and my organization, asked [them] to become informers,” Assange told ABC.

The UK Supreme Court denied Assange’s application to reopen the extradition case against him last Thursday. The whistleblower could potentially delay his removal to Sweden by making an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Assange provoked the fury of the US government by releasing thousands of classified diplomatic cables through Wikileaks. Aggressive rhetoric among American politicians has branded him a terrorist and calls for him to be treated as such.

‘Deliver him to Guantanamo to torture and imprisonment’

Bob Ellis, author and political commentator told RT that the purpose of Sweden’s extradition order had “nothing to do” with the allegations against Assange. He added that had the Swedish authorities been convinced by the allegations of sexual abuse “they would have charged him.”

“They are in collusion with the Americans to deliver him to Guantanamo to torture and imprisonment and probably death,” said Ellis.

Referring to the delay in the decision around whether to grant Assange asylum in Ecuador, Ellis suggested that it was to allow the whistleblower time to negotiate peace with the Australian government to bring him home.

The Ecuadorian government was due to make a decision on Assange’s asylum on Thursday, meanwhile the whistleblower is confined to the country’s embassy in London. If he leaves he faces arrest by UK police for violating his bail conditions.

Sweden’s patchy record

Australian journalist Mary Kostakidis told RT it would be significantly easier for the US to get its hands on Assange once he is in Sweden.

She highlighted the fact that Sweden does not have a good track record when it comes to pandering to US demands.

“Sweden has covertly handed over people to the US before, those people were tortured and in the end it was a case of mistaken identity,” she told RT. (She is unable to provide any prove to this statement)

The UN ruled that the country had violated the global ban on torture in 2006 after it aided the CIA in handing over two asylum-seekers to Egypt. Both refugees were brutally tortured and were eventually found to be innocent of charges of terrorism.